Received a 30 month settlement visa in the passport - no BRP until FLR(M) ?

Hi, We just received my wife's passport with a 30 month settlement visa, I expect because we applied from the US in May (just before the cutoff of May 31st).   Does this mean she will not receive a BRP until we go to apply for FLR(M) in 2.5 years' time ?   To be honest I would rather have had the BRP so that there could be no question about her accessing the NHS (we did have to pay the NHS levy).

Hi There,

My understanding is that if you're outside the UK you have to collect a BRP from a UK Post Office upon arrival. They only mail you the BRP if you're applying from within the UK.

Here's a quote from the Home Office website:

"Your BRP will be sent to you by post if you’re making your immigration or visa application from inside the UK. If you apply from outside the UK you’ll have to collect it from a Post Office in the UK."

Here's a link to further info:
https://www.gov.uk/biometric-residence-permits/collect

Hope this helps! I'm navigating the whole thing myself.

Jesse

Hi, We just received my wife's passport with a 30 month settlement visa, I expect because we applied from the US in May (just before the cutoff of May 31st).   Does this mean she will not receive a BRP until we go to apply for FLR(M) in 2.5 years' time ?   To be honest I would rather have had the BRP so that there could be no question about her accessing the NHS (we did have to pay the NHS levy).

Yes, as you've been issued the vignette she won't have a BRP.  That is NOT a bad thing.  I would much rather the vignette than the BRP.  There is absolutely no difference in the info on the BRP versus the vignette.  One does not "prove" the right to access the NHS.  If you have any trouble registering her at a local GP, you'll need to print off info from the UKVI proving she has the right, or you may want to go to a different GP.

Hi There,

My understanding is that if you're outside the UK you have to collect a BRP from a UK Post Office upon arrival. They only mail you the BRP if you're applying from within the UK.

Here's a quote from the Home Office website:

"Your BRP will be sent to you by post if you’re making your immigration or visa application from inside the UK. If you apply from outside the UK you’ll have to collect it from a Post Office in the UK."

Here's a link to further info:
https://www.gov.uk/biometric-residence-permits/collect

Hope this helps! I'm navigating the whole thing myself.

Jesse

Applications received after May 31st receive a 30 day entry vignette, then a BRP is to be collected from the Post Office after their arrival.      This applies to applications from the US.

Congratulations on getting your visa .

Yes, if your visa is valid for 33 months, you will not get a BRP and will not receive one until you apply for FLR(M) in 2.5 years' time.

If you were supposed to get a BRP, your visa would only be valid for 30 days and you would have received a letter from UVKI with your passport stating that you have to pick up your BRP from a UK post office within 10 days of arriving (and it would list the address of the post office).

There should be no reason why you would need a BRP for the NHS because the fact that you have the visa in the first place means that you are entitled to use the NHS - they won't issue the visa unless you have paid the levy.

As far as I know, you just show your visa when you register and they will probably check that you have paid the levy. I re-registered at a local GP recently and they had an extra page of questions on the registration forms about immigration status and the NHS levy.

Honestly, I'd be glad you don't have a BRP yet as they can make things more difficult for you - you have to carry both the BRP and your passport whenever you travel abroad (if you forget your BRP, you can't get back into the UK and will have to apply for an emergency one in the US valid for only one entry and then get a replacement BRP once you're back in the UK) and you have to inform UKVI of any changes to your name/address/any other details so they can change them on the card etc.

Hi There,

My understanding is that if you're outside the UK you have to collect a BRP from a UK Post Office upon arrival. They only mail you the BRP if you're applying from within the UK.

Here's a quote from the Home Office website:

"Your BRP will be sent to you by post if you’re making your immigration or visa application from inside the UK. If you apply from outside the UK you’ll have to collect it from a Post Office in the UK."

Here's a link to further info:
https://www.gov.uk/biometric-residence-permits/collect

Hope this helps! I'm navigating the whole thing myself.

Jesse

While this is all correct, it doesn't actually apply to sdt99 because they applied for their visa before the new BRP scheme was introduced and they have a regular, 33-month visa which doesn't require a BRP.

Thanks everyone.   The passport and our documents came back with no letter of explanation at all, so I wasn't sure.

To be honest I would rather have had the BRP so that there could be no question about her accessing the NHS (we did have to pay the NHS levy).

That's the advantage of the BRPs now. It can be shown whenever the NHS is used as a hassle free way for the holder if they have paid the IHS, to show they must not be billed.

Glad it's finally in hand.